Residents of Agege, under the banner of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), have called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and halt the Speaker, Lagos State Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, from foisting his surrogates as candidates in the local government and councillorship elections.
In a meeting held in response to the announcement of candidates for the chairmanship and vice-chairmanship of the Agege Local Government and Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area (LCDA), the aggrieved residents alleged that those shortlisted as candidates to represent the area were handpicked by Obasa.
They said the process was void of internal democracy and collective participation.
Addressing the media, Kamardeen Sabitu, chairman of the PCC for Agege and Orile-Agege, alleged that Obasa did everything possible to manipulate the political structure in the area for personal gain.
During the protest, demonstrators carried placards reading “Red Card, Obasa O to ge, (it is enough). They also chanted songs such as “Enough is Enough, this suffering is enough, Tinubu, rescue us.”
Sabitu added that the people have endured years of political marginalisation under Obasa’s influence. He recalled that the movement against imposed candidates began in 2018, during which one of the protesters died and 11 others were jailed.
“There is no true democracy in Agege. Since 2018, we’ve been resisting Obasa’s control. We salute everyone standing up to this political imposition. One person cannot dominate Agege politics,” Sabitu said.
He emphasised that while the group remains loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and is also appreciative of the party’s leadership, they will not accept candidates imposed on them without proper consultation.
“We are not leaving the APC, and we will support President Tinubu. But Obasa must go beyond media statements. He should convene a meeting with local leaders to resolve this. We’ve collected over 2,000 signatures from Agege and Orile-Agege residents rejecting this imposition,” he added.
Other community leaders echoed the same sentiment, urging Tinubu to step in.
